Henry J Heinz -
Career & Financial Facts

1.
By the time
HJ Heinz was 17 he was making $2400
selling excess produce from the family garden.

2. 1875 was a tough year for
HJ Heinz and his company:
His company was evicted from its Pittsburgh based
plant.
H.J. himself was arrested on charges of fraud filed by
creditors.
Heinz filed voluntary bankruptcy.
H.J.'s parents' furniture and house were advertised for
sheriff's sale.
He and his wife could not afford food or even Christmas
gifts for their two children.
Locals whom he owed money harassed him and accused the
family of having and hiding money.

4. In 1888
H.J. Heinz went into business with his
brother John and cousin Fredrick, however, he was not initially allowed
to be a partner. He was paid $125 a month as the manager.

5. HJ Heinz's first two
employees were women. Women could be paid 75 cents per day versus $1 per
day for men. Source

6. In 1881
HJ Heinz paid $10 to have 300 yards of
iron wire run from his house to his fathers. This allowed him to have
telephone service from one house to the other. He paid an annual rent of
$50 to have 1 telephone installed in each of the two houses. Page 78 Source

7. In 1896 he raised the wages
of women at the Pittsburgh factory by 12.5%.

8. H. J. Heinz gave out life insurance
policies to any of his employees who had been with his company for 3
years. "The face of the policy grows from $250 at its inception to
$1,000, depending on the length of service of the worker."

9. Heinz would give new parents who worked for him a silver spoon
when their child was born. Financial giants of America, Volume 2 By
George F. Redmond

10.H. J. Heinz was also a pioneer when it
came to trade show giveaways. His "pickle charms" attracted hundreds of
thousands of visitors to his exhibit at the 1893 World's Columbian
Exposition in Chicago. Source